Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative

The Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative for Offshore Wind (RWSC) was cooperatively established and is led by four Sectors – federal agencies, states, eNGOs, and the offshore wind industry. The RWSC supports research and monitoring on wildlife and offshore wind by:

Identifying priorities for scientific research and monitoring at the project, regional and ecosystem-wide scales
Coordinating and aligning funding to meeting those priorities
Ensuring appropriate data and standards are in place to support science priorities

Updates

Join the RWSC Mailing List to receive updates

April 5, 2022: RWSE is now the Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative for Offshore Wind
January 7, 2022: Collaborative funding for continued visual Aerial Megafauna Surveys in southern New England Wind Energy Areas

Integrated Science Plan for Offshore Wind and Wildlife – under development by the RWSC Subcommittees:

View the draft Ongoing & Pending Offshore Wind & Wildlife Research Database (and email us to add research projects)

Marine Mammals – access materials here
Sea Turtles – access materials here
Birds and Bats – access materials here
Habitat and Ecosystem – REGISTER for Kickoff Meeting, 5/24 from 1-2pm ET
Protected Fish Species – TBD
Cross-taxa / cross-cutting – TBD

2022 Steering Committee and Sector Caucuses

The Steering Committee contains equal representation of the four Sectors. Representatives are elected by the members of each Sector Caucus.

State Caucus
- Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
- New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
- Maryland Department of Natural Resources / Maryland Energy Administration

Federal Caucus
- BOEM
- NOAA
- US FWS

Offshore Wind Industry Caucus
- Orsted North America
- Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind
- Equinor / Shell (alternate)

eNGO Caucus
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- National Audubon Society
- The Nature Conservancy

View the full Sector Caucus Membership list (as of March 2022).

Events

Subscribe to the RWSC public calendar

Key Documents

RWSC Governance Structure: Articulates a governance structure for the RWSC as a collaborative entity among four Sectors – federal agencies, state agencies, environmental non-governmental organizations, and offshore wind companies.
Annual Work Plan for FY2022: Outlines the broad bins of responsibilities of NROC, MARCO, and CSSF staff in launching and implementing the RWSC.

Background

In July 2021, NROC, MARCO, and CSSF announced that they were selected to host the RWSC (then called Regional Wildlife Science Entity or RWSE). Read the July 2021 announcement from NROC, MARCO, and CSSF.

Since 2019, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, and a broad set of stakeholders developed a vision for a regional science organization to support research and monitoring for wildlife and offshore wind energy. Representatives from federal agencies, state agencies, offshore wind developers and non-governmental organizations will guide the future work of the RWSE via participation in the Steering Committee. The committee will leverage the expertise of these entities, many of which are already involved in a host of studies to evaluate potential effects of offshore wind development on wildlife and ecosystems. Scientific and technical experts throughout the region will also be invited to provide input on topics such as research priorities, monitoring methods, interpretation of results, and data management.